Yttrium and cerium co-doped ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized by combustion route and charac-terized using X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),Brunauer-Emmett-Teller(BET),energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS),X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS),UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy(UV-vis DRS),photoluminescence(PL)and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS)techniques.The introduction of yttrium ions has efficiently increased the relative percentage of Ce3+ions in ZnO.Yttrium and cerium co-doped ZnO shows efficient photo activity for hydrogen evolution(10.61 mmol/((g·h))higher than previously reported optimal value for rare earth co-doped ZnO photocatalysts.This remarkably increased hydrogen evolution can be ascribed to the synergy between electronic anchoring effect of Y3+/Y2+and Ce4+/Ce3+redox couples.This report presents new idea for the synthesis of efficient photocatalyst using economical route and ion anchoring effect.The hydrogen evolution was also tested using Na2S and Na2SO3 as electron donors under visible light illu-mination.The synthesized photocatalysts also exhibit high stability.